travel to Beijing
Over the next three years, the capital will focus on creating regulated, environmental standards for energy, transportation, construction, atmosphere and water, according to the Green Beijing plans released by the Beijing government on March 7.
The plan is intended to affect areas most closely connected with people. For example, by 2012, green areas should reach 15.5 square meters per person, and the city intends to open 500 bicycle-renting stations, with 20,000 bikes available. The first of these stations will be established at business center areas like Zhonguancun's Guan-ganmennei Street; others will launch in heritage-protected areas.
Regulations or restrictions on bike channels will be countered, bike parking lots are set to increase and all main streets will have bicycle channels. As for automobiles, the Traffic Administration Bureau will establish a system to monitor street-level emissions.
Off the road and in the home, a policy to switch Beijing residents from gas to electricity will be continued and expanded from relics protection areas （which are more vulnerable to fire disasters） to throughout the city.
Lang Hua is a middle-aged women living in Xuanwu district whose home is now heated by electricity instead of coal. She welcomed the policy of switching from coal to electricity, saying, “This is safer and cleaner than before. My families and neighbors all welcome the change.”
